Midlands productions

Published: 20 October 2013
Reporter: Steve Orme

Zest Theatre’s Gatecrash is at Stamford Arts Centre, Lincolnshire on Monday and South Holland Centre, Spalding on Wednesday
Eddie and the Gold Tops visits Derby’s Guildhall Theatre on Tuesday
Claire Sweeney and John Thomson in September in the Rain at Derby Theatre from Tuesday until Saturday Credit: Robert Day

Theatrical Niche presents a “nightmarish new production” of Shakespeare’s Macbeth at Buxton Opera House on Monday.

“The nation’s longest-running rock ‘n’ roll variety show That’ll Be The Day visits The Core at Corby Cube, Northamptonshire on Monday.

Zest Theatre’s Gatecrash “takes the audience and places them right in the middle of a fictional teenage house party” at Stamford Arts Centre, Lincolnshire on Monday and South Holland Centre, Spalding on Wednesday.

Kate Tempest’s latest play Hopelessly Devoted tours to Artrix, Bromsgrove, Worcestershire on Monday, the Shop Front Theatre, Coventry on Tuesday and Wednesday and the LGBT Centre, Birmingham on Friday.

Maureen Lipman, Harry Shearer and John Bowe confront a profound moral dilemma in Oliver Cotton’s new play Daytona at Birmingham REP from Monday until Saturday.

Liza Goddard, Sophie Ward, Robert Duncan, Lysette Anthony, Gary Mavers and Ben Nealon of the Agatha Christie Theatre Company Go Back for Murder at Northampton Royal from Monday until Saturday.

Marti Pellow plays Che Guevara in Evita at Stoke’s Regent Theatre from Monday until Saturday.

Milk delivery man Eddie heads for the high life but things take a churn for the worse in Badapple Theatre’s Eddie and the Gold Tops, written and directed by Kate Bramley, at Derby’s Guildhall Theatre on Tuesday.

Claudia Morris takes the role of Doris Day in Secret Love, a new musical play which celebrates the life and music of the legendary singer, at Lichfield Garrick on Tuesday.

Buxton Opera House gets a taste of the Essence of Ireland on Tuesday.

The Touring Consortium Theatre Company and Northampton Royal and Derngate co-production of E R Braithwaite’s To Sir, With Love tours to Wolverhampton Grand from Tuesday until Saturday.

Gwen Taylor stars in the Mercury Theatre Colchester production of Michael Morpurgo’s The Butterfly Lion which visits Nottingham’s Theatre Royal from Tuesday until Saturday.

Claire Sweeney and John Thomson appear in September in the Rain, written and directed by John Godber, at Derby Theatre from Tuesday until Saturday.

The Reduced Shakespeare Company romps through the Bard’s 37 plays in 97 minutes in The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) (revised) at Buxton Opera House on Wednesday.

Marking the 75th anniversary of the kindertranport movement, which resulted in more than 10,000 children being separated from their parents during World War II, Kindertransport runs at Coventry’s Belgrade from Wednesday until Saturday.

Lorca’s savage yet poetical lyrical play Yerma is transposed from rural, patriarchal and religiously repressive Spain to an inner-city British community in zeroculture’s production at mac, Birmingham while in the Foyle Studio at mac Reaction Theatre Makers stages FishHead, both on Thursday.

David Frederickson’s new play about “one of America’s foremost jazz age writers”, You Might As Well Live: An Evening with Dorothy Parker, is a Cotton Grass Theatre presentation in Buxton Pavilion Arts Centre Studio Theatre on Friday.

Two actors play “too many characters” and have “one big ego” in Living Spit’s The Six Wives of Henry VIII at mac, Birmingham on Friday.

Ballet Theatre UK stages Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker at Derby’s Assembly Rooms on Friday.

Melanie Wilson’s new solo show Landscape II, which mixes performance, film and sound art, visits Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry on Friday and Saturday.

The Russian State Ballet and Opera House return to the Lighthouse Theatre, Kettering, Northamptonshire with Swan Lake by Tchaikovsky on Friday and Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet on Saturday.

Milk Presents performs A Real Man’s Guide to Sainthood at Derby Theatre on Saturday.

A double Alan Ayckbourn bill of Time of My Life and Arrivals and Departures continues at the New Vic, Newcastle-under-Lyme until Saturday.

Nottingham writer Michael Eaton’s new play about a Victorian criminal, Charlie Peace: His Amazing Life and Astounding Legend, moves from Nottingham Playhouse to the B2 auditorium at Coventry’s Belgrade from Saturday until Saturday 16 November.

Ballet Cymru presents A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Buxton Opera House on Sunday.

Martin McDonagh’s The Beauty Queen of Leenane continues in the Studio at Curve, Leicester until Saturday 9 November.

The National Theatre’s production of War Horse continues at Birmingham Hippodrome until Saturday 9 November.

At the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford, in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre David Tennant continues as Richard II until 16 November while in the Swan, Thomas Middleton’s Jacobean comedy A Mad World My Masters continues until Friday while Shakespeare’s revenge tragedy Titus Andronicus and Mark Ravenhill’s response to Voltaire’s Candide both continue until Saturday.

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